Gurugram Court issues arrest warrants against TV anchors Chitra Tripathi, Syed Suhail in POCSO case
Gurugram: A special court in Gurugram, Haryana, has issued non-bailable arrest warrants against TV news anchors Chitra Tripathi (ABP News) and Syed Suhail (Republic Bharat) in connection with a 2013 POCSO case.
The Additional District and Sessions Judge, Ashwani Kumar Mehta, passed the order after cancelling their bail and rejecting their requests for exemption from personal appearance in court. The court directed the SHO concerned to execute the warrants by November 30 and to appear in person if the warrants remain unexecuted.
Tripathi sought exemption, citing travel to Nasik for covering the Maharashtra elections, while Suhail sought relief on the grounds of travelling to Kanpur for by-election coverage. The court dismissed their applications, observing that both anchors had been taking the legal process lightly.
The case pertains to charges against eight journalists, including Tripathi, Suhail, and others, for allegedly airing "morphed, edited, and obscene" videos of a 10-year-old girl and her family linked to a sexual assault case involving self-styled godman Asaram Bapu. The journalists are accused of criminal conspiracy, forgery, and violating provisions under the POCSO Act and the IT Act.
Charges have been framed under IPC s.120B (criminal conspiracy), s.469 and s.471 (forgery), IT Act s.67B (abusing children online), s.67 (publishing or transmitting sexually explicit content), and POCSO Act s.23 (disclosure of identity of a child by media) and s.13C (indecent or obscene representation of a child).
The court emphasised the need for expeditious proceedings, as the case has already been delayed by nine years. The journalists face allegations of conspiring to forge and broadcast indecent content, thereby harming the reputation of the victim and her family.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
